


and now I don't need nothing

by whatalamebooknerd (adverbialstarlight)



Category: Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Music, Mutual Pining, Pining, petition for the tog fandom to get fun popular tags for characters like vld
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-02
Updated: 2018-11-02
Packaged: 2019-08-14 14:14:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16494149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adverbialstarlight/pseuds/whatalamebooknerd
Summary: Of Crowns and Swords is the hottest new up and coming rock band. On tour, they stop in the city of Morath for three days, where Elide, the band's personal music technician, runs into Manon, a young woman sitting in a back alley playing her guitar. She offers to teach Elide to play— completely unknowing of Elide's current profession. And she really should say no, especially considering how well she can play herself, but Elide can't resist the offer. Who wouldn't want to be retaught how to play guitar by a cute stranger you just met in a sketchy alleyway?





	and now I don't need nothing

**Author's Note:**

> ~~Me, back actively writing for throne of glass even though I've not even read KoA yet? It's more likely than you'd think.~~
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> Hi, thanks for checking this fic out! I've been wanting to do it for a while and am excited to get this started, I hope you enjoy! I broke my streak of naming fics after _old_ pop punk songs because this one comes from a _newer_ one!! More specifically, Soundcheck by Catfish and the Bottlemen. It's a great song check it out.
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> *this was not betaed so please excuse any spelling errors!

 

When Elide Lochan wandered away from her friends and into the intricate labyrinth of streets of a town she had never been to before, some might call her an idiot. And maybe she was— it was not the wisest idea being a young girl with a crippled foot wandering around sketchy places alone. Withal, others might call it fate.

It was fate that had brought her to this overlooked borough of Morath, to this tiny, worn neighborhood where Elide met the love of her life.

The air had been still, the noises all the same ones in any urban area. In the distance there was shouting, speeding cars with the radios dialed up just a bit too loud, te typical sounds of a neighborhood such as this on a Wednesday night. But there was one thing that stuck out, that had caused Elide to pull out an earbud and walk in the direction it was coming from. The unmistakable notes of a guitar.

When she finally found it, she was in a small back alley far from the main roads where the streets were grimmier, the paint shittier, and the guitar vibrations even louder. In the center of one of the otherwise desolate garages sat a young woman with platinum hair. Her eyes were closed as she picked adroitly at a dark red electric guitar, the grin on her lips wicked.

Having played the instrument herself for years and helping with instrument check for Of Crowns and Swords— Aelin’s band which was what brought her to Morath in the first place— for nearly as long, Elide was no novice, and she knew talent when she saw it. And if Elide was pretty decent, then this girl with her graceful, quick fingers and air of confidence was pretty much a god.

All that she could do was stand there and stare. The stranger wasn’t playing anything too special, some melodic riff that she’d probably made up on the spot, but there was something about that way that she played it that made Elide lean in just a bit more. It was like a spell, the melody threaded through her head and left her in a daze that would not break even as the girl stopped and looked up at Elide.

“Hey there,” she said, eyebrow raised. “Can I help you?”

Elide felt her breath catch as she met piercing amber eyes. She was never one to quickly lust after a stranger, to ever immediately notice the lovely dip of their lips and fall instantly in love with the way their voice held the lilt of some unplaceable accent.

She shrugged, not saying anything. There was no telling what this girl was capable of, it was best not to give anything out to her that could somehow be used. This was not the first sketchy neighborhood Elide had strolled through, the sharp pocket knife that Aelin had gifted her sitting snugly in the pocket of her jeans was evidence of that.

“I’ve never seen you around before. Literally no one likes to come around these parts. Gangs and shit, you know. Apparently Morath has some pretty high crime rates. It’s not very safe for you to be around here, so either you’re new or stupid.”

Elide wanted to laugh at that. There was the confirmation of her idiocy. She probably should’ve turned and tried to find her way back to the venue now, to meet up with Aelin again s they could all grab dinner before soundcheck, but there was something about this girl that made her stay. It was like a magnetic pull, there was something keeping her rooted here against all logic of gangs and rapists and muggers that might jump out for her at any moment. It wouldn’t have been the first time, though.

She shook her head. “Never been around here before, just stopping in for a few days because of work. There was time to kill so I thought I’d just look around and heard you playing. You’re pretty good, actually.”

The girl grinned. “Yeah, I know.”

Elide did snort at that. “What modesty,” she said, shifting her weight to the back of her foot. Going this long without break for sitting or having her cane seemed to be taking a bit of a toll today.

Having a permanently messed up ankle meant that she limped a bit wherever she went anyway, but after at least three hours of walking around here without any support or resting was honestly hell. But it wasn’t like she was going to bring her cane  _ here, _ making her like a beacon for easy targets.

This time the stranger laughed, letting a few strands of hair fall in front of her eyes. “Yep.” She turned to Elide’s foot then, head tilting in slight curiosity. “Is there something wrong with that?” she asked bluntly.

“Yeah, got my ankle twisted up a few times, nothing major,” Elide brushed it off. “So how long have you been playing, that looks like a really nice guitar?”

It looked like the girl wanted to bring back the topic of Elide’s ankle— obviously to ask  _ how  _ that happened— but she took to the new topic immediately. Her eyes seemed to brighten as she said, “It is, yeah. I’ve been playing for years now— fifteen now. It’s a… thing for me and my cousins. We all can play at least two instruments.”

Elide raised her eyebrows. “Wow,” she said, impressed. “That’s pretty cool.” It obviously took several years to reach such a level of mastery, but considering that she looked maybe nineteen or twenty then she’d been playing since she was a child. Elide, meanwhile had only really picked it up at sixteen when Aelin’s band was really starting to gain traction. And she had also gathered that this girl also valued her family to some extent, maybe even played songs with them. It was something that Elide could appreciate.

“Thanks,” she received in reply, and they settled into silence.

Elide grasped for something else to say to keep up the conversation, not quite ready to head back yet, when the girl leaned back

The girl leaned back. “So, do you play?” Elide shrugged and was about to tell her about Of Crowns and Swords when the girl continued nonchalantly, “I could teach you, if you’d like. You’re cool I guess.” The words were said casually, but beneath the calm exterior Elide could see what was almost  _ nervousness _ , like she was hoping for Elide to say yes. She didn’t know what it meant.

Elide’s mouth slammed shut and her eyes locked onto amber ones again. She did play, to the point where she was the one teaching Dorian, the lead rhythm guitarist, different things so it would be a waste of the girl’s time and probably her own as well, but at the same time…

Like it was some stupid sappy teen movie, Elide could easily picture herself in the garage with the girl, their hands lightly touching and their bodies close as she taught Elide A Minor. She would know her name then, be able to spend more time with her, selfish as it all was, but really who could say no to such an offer?

“Uh, sure. If that’s good with you,” she said finally, nodding.

“Yeah, nothing else to do, might as well, you know?” The small, soft smile that followed seemed to contradict the words but Elide didn’t mind too much, another ball of warmth surfacing in her stomach as she smiled back.

“Of course, yeah, cool. Thanks.”

She nodded and pulled a black elastic band off her wrist, tying back her hair into a loose braid. Elide had thought that she’d looked good when it had been down as she played earlier, completely lost in the music, but she had not been prepared in the slightest to see her hair tied back like a fantasy world huntress, eyes glinting with determination and amusement. “Alright, first I should probably get your name. Can’t just be giving out free lessons to random people on the street.”

Elide blinked, realizing that she had not told her name either, even in the fifteen or so minutes they had talked to each other. “Oh, right, yeah. I’m Elide.”

“Manon,” she got in reply. The name sounded vaguely familiar, but Elide couldn’t think too much as to why because then Manon was striding up to her and pausing before shaking her hand firmly. “Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get right into it, c’mon.” She beckoned Elide forward, not bothering to see if the other girl was following as she strode back into the garage.

They squished together on the small box, nearly sitting on top of each other, but neither commented on it. Instead Elide held her breath as Manon placed the guitar gently into her hands. Her initial instinct was to wrap her hands familiarly around the neck, to try out a few chords, but she resisted and instead let Manon guide her fingers into position of the E chord.

“Alright, so there’s six strings. That’s E, that’s A, that’s D, that’s G, that’s B, and that’s E. And this is a chord,” Manon began. Her words were quick and terse, though if Elide truly didn’t know how to play then it would have still been understandable.

She let herself zone out, watching Manon’s face and her soft hand move across the frets, completely and utterly baffled. What the hell was she doing? There was no way that this could end well if Manon found out, and even then, Elide was moving on in three days and they probably wouldn’t be coming back to Morath for a while.Then what?

Though, it was already a mess, what was the harm in letting it continue on a bit longer?

They continued on for another hour or two only to be interrupted by Elide’s phone vibrating in her back pocket. They both jumped, and she tried not to think too much about the sudden lack of warmth.  _ It’s November, obviously it’s cold _ , she reasoned to herself.

She flipped the screen around to see that Aelin was calling and sighed. “Sorry, give me a second,” she told Manon, though it was posed more like a question. Elide swiped it open and put the phone up to her ear, pushing the guitar neck forward so she could slip out of the strap.

“Hey, what’s up?” she said.

“Elide. What the fuck. Where are you, I texted you like six times and you missed soundcheck. I had to let some rando fuck with my guitar, hope you’re happy,” Aelin grumbled. “But anyway, get your ass over here. If you went off exploring sketchy neighborhoods again I’m going to get Chaol to hit you with one of his drum sticks.”

Her voice was exasperated, but the fondness and worry beneath was still clear. Over the years, Elide and Aelin had become excellent at reading each other even just through voice. “Yeah, okay, whatever. I’ll be there in like five minutes,” she said rolling her eyes.

The two said their goodbyes and hung up, and Elide turned back to Manon with a wince. Her face was carefully blank, but Elide could have sworn that she saw something like disappointment flicker in her eyes. “Uh, I’ve got to go. Work calls. I’ll see you tomorrow maybe?” Elide said, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt.

“Yeah, that’d be cool. See you tomorrow then,” Manon replied.

Elide waved and turned back into the streets, her smile immediately fading once she was a few feet back into the main alley. The thought came back to her again,  _ what are you doing, what are you doing, what are you _ —

No. She would just have to deal with this later, and what did it matter if she spent a bit of time with an amazingly beautiful, quietly thoughtful woman, it was only going to be for three days. Three days and then they would never see each other again.

Elide tried to pretend it didn’t hurt as much as it did.

**Author's Note:**

> Me @ me: hey those are some pretty huge Voltron event projects you've got to write there,, 15k many big,, and deadlines exist
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> Me: ,,,, hey you should write that one malide fic idea you came up with in June instead
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> Me: ... let's do it *writes this whole first part in one sitting*
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> Anyway, hello hope that was okay, drop a kudos or a comment to make me cry because comments mean a lot to me if you do take that time :D However, as mentioned like 2 seconds ago, I'm currently in a lot of events where I'm writing stuff (long stuff) (and still signing up for more events) so unfortunately I can't promise super speedy updates all the time but hope someone sticks around. Sorry for blabbing, hope you have a good day/night/whatever and bye!
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> [catch me on tumblr](adverbialstarlight.tumblr.com)


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